Football Arrives in Atlanta for Chick-fil-A Bowl

ATLANTA -- LSU arrived at its headquarters for the next week on Christmas evening as the Tigers pulled into the Hilton in downtown Atlanta at 6 p.m. after a short one-hour and thirty-minute charter flight from Baton Rouge.

After the flight from Baton Rouge, the Tigers checked into their rooms, unpacked and then headed to a 30-minute team meeting. The night concluded with a Christmas party for the entire traveling party, complete with one final visit from Santa Claus.

LSU will resume its on-field preparations for 14th-ranked Georgia Tech with a morning practice session in the Georgia Dome on Friday. LSU will practice at the Atlanta Falcons Practice Facility on both Saturday and Sunday before returning to the Georgia Dome for the remainder of the week on Monday.

“We’re excited to be here,” LSU coach Les Miles said. “Our bowl preparations have gone well up to this point. It will be nice to get back on the practice field tomorrow as we continue to get ready to face a very good Georgia Tech team.”

In addition to practice on Friday, the Tigers will take part in the official Chick-fil-A Team Welcome Party at the ESPN Zone at 2 p.m.

The Tigers, who are playing in a bowl game for a school-record ninth straight year, will square off against the Yellow Jackets at 7:30 p.m. EST on Dec. 31. The game will be televised, unopposed, on ESPN.

LSU brings a 7-5 overall mark into the game, while Georgia Tech is 9-3. LSU is 3-0 under Miles in bowl games since his arrival in 2005, which includes a pair of victories in BCS bowl games. Last year, the Tigers claimed the school’s third national title in football with a 38-24 win over Ohio State in the BCS National Championship Game in New Orleans.